Survivor of crash that killed Buddy Amoroso demands driver education

WEST FELICIANA PARISH - It's been about three weeks since Buddy Amoroso was killed in a cycling accident.

After the accident, the parish council put together a committee to find a solution to make cycling on their roads safer. At its first meeting on Wednesday, the committee heard suggestions from cyclists and drivers.

Tom Clement, who was injured in the same cycling accident, admits that before he became an avid cyclist 11 years ago, he didn't like them--a shared sentiment with a lot of drivers in the Felicianas.

After learning the craft and going through the accident, he wants to use his slowly returning strength to educate the public.

"Education. Respect for the driver. Respect for the cyclists," Clement stated.

He says the only way to prevent any more fatal bicycling accidents is to teach people to share the road.

"A bicyclist has the same right to the road and has to abide by the same laws as a motorcyclist."

Clement hopes to do something similar in Baton Rouge.

"Buddy and I was putting together some ideas and we bantered back and forth about it, and he was going to make some presentations to the and see where he could go with that."

Now that his wife, Denise, may fill his seat, Clement thinks she will take on that initiative.

"Denise is going to be filling Buddy's shoes, and we talked very briefly about that."

The safety committee in West Feliciana does plan on having another public meeting to hear more ideas in the near future, we will post that information as soon as they decide on the date.